Lift in China plummets 19 levels before shooting up 35 floors, passenger dies from head injury

Lift overrun accident leads to death of 59-year-old resident

Wei (name transliterated from Chinese), a 59-year-old man from Kunming, China died after his apartment’s lift shot up 35 floors and collided with the shaft ceiling.

On 18 Feb evening, Mr Wei took the lift to retrieve an item from his apartment. However, the lift lost control like a “roller coaster”, plunging rapidly from the 17th floor to the basement before shooting up to the 33rd floor.

The violent motion caused Wei to suffer severe head trauma, which eventually led to fatal bleeding. He was declared dead at the scene, according to Chinese news outlet CCTV.

Source: The Paper

A document issued by the Kunming Emergency Management Bureau stated that Mr Wei’s death was caused by a lift malfunction that led to an “elevator roof collision”.

Such malfunctions occur when the lift moves beyond its maximum floor limit, continuing upward until it hits its shaft’s ceiling.

Lifts in area undergo maintenance after incident

According to CCTV, the lift was last inspected in Oct 2023 and underwent maintenance in Sept 2024.

Local property management confirmed that following the incident, maintenance was promptly carried out on all lifts within the area.

Authorities have reassured the family that they will provide a resolution.

Lift overrun incidents can be extremely dangerous due to the rapid upward movement.

As the elevator ascends, passengers may collide with the ceiling due to inertia. When the elevator eventually falls, the impact can be fatal.

Also read: Lift in China surges from 11th to 28th floor, 7-year-old boy sustains fractures

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Featured image adapted from The Paper and Pexels. for illustrative purposes only.